Touch of Evil (Welles, 1958)

[ak]

Touch of Evil (1958)

The coolest, funniest, strangest and most perverse noir I've ever seen. Welles was way ahead of his time once again, here's a film about a burnt out cop who becomes both the judge and jury, a shell of his former righteous self but still a "great cop" with a nose for crime.

The camera is an important instrument for Welles and here the cinematography is bold and reckless; the opening sequence is a spectacular one-take crane shot that starts with a tight close-up of a ticking bomb and ends with a ball of fire which takes place off camera. Welles uses only Heston and Janet Leigh characters' reaction to the explosion, a visual technique that is repeated several times during the film. Welles is more interested in how an event changes a person's expression to a surprise or tragedy. The humour is unquestionably oddball (the Coen Brothers may well be aping Welles) especially with Dennis Weaver's motel manager character who shares a strong resemblance to the Brothers' regular actor collaborator John Turturro.

Welles is very Hitchcockian here but his manipulation of images is steeped in bleakness, they are less merciful standing in sharp contrast to the light tone of the film. Capt Hank Quinlan, Welles' cop walks that fine line between comedy and seriousness, hero and villain, madman and genius; I'm not sure if any other actor could have salvaged this role (our knowledge of Welles being Welles helps, in one scene - a reference to his real life – Quinlan’s former lover evens mocks his obesity by saying "you've been eating candy bars.") The film is clumsy, sometimes teetering on slapstick, but there's magic about it; the film has the audacity to play as broad comedy (note one scene featuring Heston making a call while a one-eye woman sits tightly framed on the right side of the screen…the camera pans up Heston's head and reveals a sign that warns us not to steal from the blind and then ends with the sly "enjoy yourself"). Welles was clearly enjoying the hell out of himself!

Henry Mancini's jazz score is fun and sexy, casting a net of retro-cool to the dramatic tension. My favourite scene involves Heston and Dennis Weaver’s quirky motel manager standing just outside the porch as the wind plays tricks with their hair and clothes. This scene perfectly describes the tone of the film, a brilliant thriller and crime drama that doesn't take itself seriously but manages to say serious things about youth, old age, justice, honour, disillusionment and the deep-rooted hurt from losing the love of your life. ak

Rating:
out of

[animatedude]

i've never seen this film but all i know is that it's one of the reasons why Spielberg casted Dennis Weaver in Duel.

[ak]

Welles basically created Weaver's character for the revamped script just to work with him!

"Touch of Evil" was one of the reasons why Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut started making movies.

[ayaa1977]

I am currently working on my ignorance of the classics. A few days ago I watched Touch of Evil. The film visually is stunning, the opening scene as AK mentioned is so masterful and I am amazed how it was done by the technology of the 50's. Welles is amazing as a director, and his framing and camera work is juts mind-boggling. You'd have to pay 100% attention for all the details. For example, in some scenes two actors will be talking and in the background some things are happening and you will have to pay attention to them while trying to catch on with the conversation and that is an example why this film is such a visual feast. Of course the acting is good, and the film has more humor than it should given how dark its subject. I didn't like the Mexican gang and how cartoonish it is. I didn't see them as menacing or dangerous, even the singing/dancing gangs of West Side Story were more fearsome than these ragtag buffoons. But Orson Welles, Carlton Hesston, and Janet Leigh more than made up for what lacks in the screenplay itself. I loved the quote/moral of the film: "he was a great detective, and a lousy cop". I enjoyed the film very much and I encourage anyone who didn't see it to do so.

My Rating: 4/5.  

[ak]

Which version did you see: theatrical or "director's cut"?

(The studio took the film away from Welles. He wrote an impassioned 58-page memo outlining how the film should be cut. In the late 90s, many years after Welles' death, the great Walter Murch was brought in as an editor to restore it as close to Welles' intended version as possible.)

[ayaa1977]

AK, I watched the director's cut, it has this note that you mentioned.

Animatedude, only a moron would call Orson Welles a loser.

[ak]

Animatedude, only a moron would call Orson Welles a loser.

I deleted his comment because it did not add to this topic, and also because it seemed to fit a pattern of rants, across several threads, in the last 24-48 hours.

I did not edit/remove your response to him above because I want it to be known that you do not have fight "fire with fire."

There are moderators here and I wish to make it clear to everyone that flippant comments that do not add value and lack *good-natured humor* WILL be deleted.

AK, I watched the director's cut, it has this note that you mentioned.

Animatedude, only a moron would call Orson Welles a loser.

Might be interesting to see the theatrical cut at some point and review that as a comparison! (I am making the same note for myself!)